Landscape Architecture

UCLA Violates a Long-Standing Regent's Bequest and Endangers One of the Rarest Private Japanese Gardens in the United States

Charles A. Birnbaum | Posted 05.02.2012

Read More: Japanese Gardens, Bequests, Landscape Architecture, Ucla, Bloomberg, Daily Bruin, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, Kirk Kerkorian, Hannah Carter Japanese Garden, Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles News
Charles A. Birnbaum

Preservation of significant designed landscapes, as I've written previously, is no easy matter, so any entity's pledge to maintain a nationally important work of landscape architecture "in perpetuity" is a victory.

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Killing Modernism with Fuzzy Math, Bad Information and False Choices

Charles A. Birnbaum | Posted 04.11.2012

Read More: Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Modernism, Urban Planning, Minneapolis, Architecture Conservation, Peavey Plaza Minneapolis, Peavey Plaza, Orange County Government Cente, Architecture-Restoration, Paul Rudolph, Arts News
Charles A. Birnbaum

Modernism, despite the popularity of Mad Men and shelter magazines like Dwell, is under assault. Iconic works of architecture and landscape architecture from have a particularly high mortality rate.

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Classical Design, Timeless Principles

J. Michael Welton | Posted 05.29.2012

Read More: Fort Belvoir, Richard H. Driehaus Prize, Louisville, Central Park, Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Michael Graves, Henry Hope Reed, Betsy Rogers, Arts News
J. Michael Welton

His work doesn't mimic the work of Palladio or the architecture of Athens and Rome, but it's clearly informed by the classical principles of balance, harmony and symmetry. And he continues to experiment with how the profession might move forward as he employs them.

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Is Landscape Architecture No Longer "The Good Wife"?

Charles A. Birnbaum | Posted 05.12.2012

Read More: Best Landscape Architecture, Most Beautiful Parks, Best Parks, Landscape Architecture, Cultural Landscape Foundation, New York City Parks, High Line Park New York, High Line Park, Arts News
Charles A. Birnbaum

Good news for landscape architects: Your work is appreciated more than ever -- think of the High Line. Bad news, you don't always get the credit -- think of the High Line.

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2011's 10 Notable Developments in Landscape Architecture

Charles A. Birnbaum | Posted 02.21.2012

Read More: Architecture, Peavey Plaza, Historic Preservation, Landscape Architecture, High Line, Landscape Design, Urban Planning, Christian Science Center, Lincoln Park Soundscape, Landscape Architecture Magazine, Fulton Mall, Miller House and Garden, Arts News
Charles A. Birnbaum

I submit this list of 10 notable developments in the world of landscape architecture to reflect on including new designs, significant transformations and influential publications.

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City Shaping IV: Can Target Right What Minneapolis Is About to Ruin?

Charles A. Birnbaum | Posted 12.24.2011

Read More: Restoration, Modernism, Urban Revitalization, Urban Planning, Minneapolis, Target Corp, Design, Historic Preservation, Landscape Architecture, High Line, Arts News
Charles A. Birnbaum

Excitement has turned to disappointment in Minneapolis, and what's happening there should be a warning about safeguarding transparency in public process and civic debate.

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To Be Real... You've Got to Be Real

Charles A. Birnbaum | Posted 12.07.2011

Read More: 9/11 Memorial, Survivors' Staircase, Calvert Vaux, Samuel Parsons, Central Park, Architecture, Jr., Authenticity, Landscape Architecture, Sr., Frederick Law Olmsted, Hamilton Grange National Memorial, Arts News
Charles A. Birnbaum

Two new sites in New York -- the 9/11 Memorial and the newly relocated home of Alexander Hamilton -- definitely raise questions about authenticity in the context of how we may manage a landscape's transformation.

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New Times Square Design Aims To Separate Locals And Tourists

Posted 11.28.2011

Read More: Snohetta Architecture, New York City Times Square Design, Urban Planning, The New York Times, Landscape Architecture, New York City Design, Architecture, Urban Design, Tim Tompkins, Times Square Alliance, New York City, Times Square Design, Snohetta New York City, Times Square, Jumbotron, Architecture New York City, Snohetta, Arts News

New York City's Times Square has lived through its fair share of incarnations, from the entertainment hub of the 1910s to the seedy den of vice in the...

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City Shaping III: The Philadelphia Story

Charles A. Birnbaum | Posted 11.13.2011

Read More: Horticulture, Urban Policy, Urban Planning, Urban Design, Philadelphia, Landscape Architecture, City Planning, Philadelphia Urban Planning, Philadelphia City Planning, Philadelphia Urban Design, Arts News
Charles A. Birnbaum

For more than three centuries, city planning, landscape architecture and a unique civic ambition that emphasizes horticulture as much as the pedestrian experience in its public spaces and streetscapes, have made Philadelphia a fascinating city.

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Dear Architecture Criticism: Evolve Already!

Charles A. Birnbaum | Posted 09.13.2011

Read More: Architecture, Criticism, New York Times, Washington Post, Landscape Architecture, Green News
Charles A. Birnbaum

Unfortunately, major daily newspaper critical analysis of landscape architecture doesn't appear to be following the same trend as the profession's growth.

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F. Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater, at 75

J. Michael Welton | Posted 08.09.2011

Read More: Architecture Books, Frank Lloyd Wright, Landscape Architecture, Fallingwater, Frank Lloyd Wright Properties, Architecture Literature, Frank Lloyd Wright House, Fallingwater House, Pennsylvania-Architecture, Arts News
J. Michael Welton

Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater is 75 years old this year, and its director is celebrating with a new book of essays and photography addressing the residence, its restoration and its landscape.

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The Genius of Design -- Frederick Law Olmsted

Geri Spieler | Posted 08.05.2011

Read More: Golden Gate Park, Central Park, Calvert Vaux, Landscaping, Design, Landscape Architecture, Niagara Falls State Reserve, Justin Martin, Stanford University, Frederick Law Olmsted, San Francisco, New York, Gardens, Books News
Geri Spieler

The gift of artistic vision on the large stage of life is rare. When witnessed it is so overwhelming few can appreciate its impact for years to come.

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The Value of View

Charles A. Birnbaum | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Landscape Design, Landscape Architecture, Historic Preservation, Frederic Edwin Church, Calvert Vaux, Sr., Frederick Law Olmsted, Viewshed, Olana, Arts News
Charles A. Birnbaum

2011-03-15-Screenshot20110315at1.01.42PM.jpg

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In the Shadow of 10 Best Lists

Charles A. Birnbaum | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Raymond Jungles, Lincoln Road, Rubell Family Collection, Art Basel Miami Beach, Landscape Architecture, Design Miami/, Robert Wennett, Miami, Modern, Miami Beach, Herzog & De Meuron, Arts News
Charles A. Birnbaum

Miami in December is a great place to gorge on art and design -- and last month's Art Basel Miami Beach, Design Miami, and satellite art fairs such as Pulse and Nada, did not disappoint.

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Redesigning Design to Make Room for Landscape

Charles A. Birnbaum | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: New York Times Architecture, Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Architecture Publications, High Line, Architecture Coverage, Arts News
Charles A. Birnbaum

We have no shortage of architecture critics, but criticism about landscape architecture, planning and design is essentially restricted to publications geared to professionals, and largely absent from major dailies.

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Scarred Site to Cultural Center

J. Michael Welton | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Green Urban Planning, Green Architecture, Thomas Phifer, Urban Planning, Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Edward Durell Stone, Raleigh, North Carolina, Arts News
J. Michael Welton

The state of North Carolina has transformed its own scarred site -- 164 suburban acres located two miles from Raleigh's Capitol Square -- into an ecologically sound, culturally diverse asset.

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Impossible Architecture: A Review of the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust

Guy Horton | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Sustainable Design, Green Architecture, Urban Planning, Architecture, Design, Urban Design, Landscape Architecture, Los Angeles, Arts News
Guy Horton

2010-11-15-iwanbaan.jpg Events like the Holocaust simply overpower the present. For this reason, perhaps, there exist physical places to anchor those memories, so they can be put somewhere.

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City Shaping II: Will Architecture Go Horizontal?

Charles A. Birnbaum | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Architecture, Harvard, Landscape Architecture, Landscape Urbanism, New Urbanism, Suburbs, Urban Planning, Landscapes, Arts News
Charles A. Birnbaum

Landscape Urbanism sees landscape architecture, rather than architecture, as the design medium more capable of organizing the city and enhancing the urban experience.

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How to "Live-by-Design?" See-Through the Glass House

Alla Kazovsky | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Architecture, The Glass House, Creativity Coaching, Self-Help, Philip Johnson, Design, Landscape Architecture, Arts News
Alla Kazovsky

Located on a 47-acre property, a simple glass box was once one of the most famous houses in the United States. Philip Johnson's Glass House compound reformed and re-defined the living environment.

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City Shaping, Change and Continuity

Charles A. Birnbaum | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Mies Van Der Rohe, Louisville, Landscape Architecture, Yew Dell Botanical Gardens, Frederick Law Olmsted, Louisville Courier Journal, American Life Building, Arts News
Charles A. Birnbaum

While Detroit is contemplating a shrinking of that city through wholesale demolition of historic neighborhoods, Louisville, Kentucky has opted for a very different approach.

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Can't Afford College? Ten High-Paying Jobs That Don't Require A Degree

walletpop.com | Jennifer B. Larson | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Private Investigator, College-Drop-Out-Rate, Air Traffic Controller, College, Detectives, Make Money Fast, Bounty Hunters, Make Money, College Tuition, Landscape Architecture, College Tuition Hikes, College-Degrees, 2010-College-Graduate-Job-Salaries, Elevator-Mechanics, College Degrees, College-Drop-Outs, College Degree, Business News

Payscale.com has a list of well-paying jobs you can skip college for, based on statistics based on compiled by and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, but...

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When They're Gone... They're Gone

Charles A. Birnbaum | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: In the Hamptons, James Van Sweden, Landscape Architecture, Wolfgang Oehme, Whitefield Condominiums, Dan Kiley, Real Estate Development, Green News
Charles A. Birnbaum

Overdevelopment is doing to cultural landscapes what excessive plastic surgery has done to... well, I won't name names. But I will say after spending two weeks in the Hamptons, I can point to egregious examples of both.

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Is Landscape Architecture Just "Parsley Around the Roast" of Architecture?

Charles A. Birnbaum | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Boston Globe, Christian Science Center, Modernism, Urban Planning, Hartford, Boston, Architecture, New York Times, Greenacre Park, Landscape Architecture, Wall Street Journal, Hideo Sasaki, Constitution Plaza, New York City, Washington Square Village, Impact News
Charles A. Birnbaum

The nation's designed landscape heritage is rich, varied and fascinating -- especially in our cities where the Harvard educator and landscape architect Hideo Sasaki saw a great design opportunity for the "betterment of [the] human environment."

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Save Trestles, Safe Trestles, Surf Trestles

Cameron Sinclair | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: La Real Estate, Open Access, Architecture for Humanity, Surfing, Surfrider Foundation, Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Safe Access, Environmental Protection, Green News
Cameron Sinclair

Access to Trestles, one of North America's most celebrated waves, is under threat due to safety and environmental concerns.

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Modernisms' Olmsted: Lawrence Halprin dead at 93

Cameron Sinclair | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: FDR Memorial, Landscape Architecture, Sea Ranch, Halprin, Green News
Cameron Sinclair

When I moved to the Bay Area and heard the local design community speak of Lawrence Halprin, it was as a true living legend.

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